


The Garden Window

by anemptymargin



Category: Hot Fuzz (2007)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-17
Updated: 2010-10-17
Packaged: 2017-10-12 17:52:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/127478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anemptymargin/pseuds/anemptymargin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gabriel knows he shouldn't peek in other people's windows, but he's taken a liking to Danny over the years and can't help but make sure everything is going alright after his release from the hospital.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Garden Window

**Author's Note:**

> Experimenting a bit with perspective.

"Gabriel, come on! What are you doing?"

"Just got something I want to check on, go ahead - I'll meet you up at the shop." I know I shouldn't be peeping, it's rude and could get me in a lot of trouble... especially peeping into Sergeant Angel's window. I just can't help it, after what happened and what my granddad did I sort of feel like it's the least I can do to make sure he's alright. Once they're all gone I cut down the alley and slipped right through the side gate that oddly enough never seemed to be locked. Silent as always, I pulled up my hood against the afternoon glare and give a cursory peek between the halfway open drapes.

Danny was still in bed, this time rolled onto his side and facing the window - asleep as normal this time of day. His dressing gown (which must have been Nicholas' idea of comfortable) had come open to expose the purple bruises across his chest as well as the large gauze square taped to his belly - already tinged red. I knew it wasn't blood, it couldn't still be blood but the gross other stuff was pretty bad too… but it's a good thing I think.

Sergeant Angel had moved into the empty cottage two days after the incident, I'd caught him unpacking in the middle of the night and was a bit shocked when he asked for my help instead of running me in for breaking the new curfew. He didn't say much the whole time, just sometimes muttered under his breath about things he didn't really seem to want to talk about. Before he sent me home I pieced together that he was upset he couldn't stay at the hospital with Danny and that there wasn't too much left to do in town with all the help sent from London and even some gent from next town over getting the supermarket back up and running. The pub had been open the day after. Angel never did seem like a baddie, bit of a twat but for the right reasons at least. He even paid me a tenner for the work and doubled it to help set up the downstairs for Danny to stay a while. I was concerned when they brought in the hospital bed, and even more a few days later when they finally brought Danny, watching Nicholas struggle to move him from the car to a wheelchair - fighting off anyone who tried to help.

Taking care of Danny obviously meant a lot to him and for some reason I guess that meant a lot to me. So I started watching - just checking in on my way out to school or when I went home… and sometimes a few times in the day. I know it's really creepy and strange, but it felt like it was okay at the time. I was only watching, just an observer to make sure everything was alright.

The first few days were pretty dull, seems like every time I checked in either Sergeant Angel or the nurse was just sort of there, sitting with him or helping him eat a little. Danny, well… he just seemed kind of gone, maybe sad. Then one day the nurse just stopped coming, but Angel seemed to know what he was doing. The Met probably made him take a bunch of courses on it or something before he even came out here, I guess. It took a little over two weeks before I saw either of them break a smile. They had left the window cracked open in the evening and when I stopped by on my way home I could hear Danny laughing.

"Ow…" Danny tried to stop, holding himself around the middle while Sergeant Angel scrubbed him with a facecloth.

"Stop laughing so hard, Danny. You'll pull a stitch." The Sergeant chided him, making circles on his back with the soapy cloth.

"I can't help it." Danny laughed again, pushing even more on the bandage; "It was bloody hysterical, like you've never seen it before. You know your whole head turns purple when you blush."

"I wasn't blushing. And for your information, I haven't seen it before… at least not… you know."

"Happy?" Danny giggled and I realized exactly what he was talking about, blushing a bit myself. "Randy? Aroused? Oooh… good one… turgid…" His accent went dirty thick and Sergeant Angel was indeed blushing.

"You have an impressive vocabulary when it comes to that particular part of the anatomy." Inspector Angel muttered, dropping the cloth into a bowl of water. "I was going to say inappropriately exposed."

"Boring." Danny rolled his eyes, slowly turning on the bed, stretching one leg up and then seeming to put a lot of effort into moving the other. "Not like you never got a hard on before."

"Actually," Angel quickly got up and helped Danny back into bed without even a word about it, like they both knew what they doing. "I have significantly better control of myself."

"Liar." Danny grumbled, covering himself up with the duvet. "It's not like it listens when you tell it 'no' or nothing. I bet you also haven't gotten off since what's-her-face."

"Janine." The Sergeant responded coldly, turning off all but the bedside lamp. "I'll bring your dressing gown and some DVDs after breakfast tomorrow. Get some rest, okay? If you need anything, ring the bell… I'll hear it."

I waited for Danny to say something, but he didn't. Just laid there and after a few minutes began to fumble under the covers - then grunted and groaned as he turned his head towards the door. Yeah, way past time for me to disappear.

They kind of had an interesting routine there, like nothing else seemed to matter when it was just the two of them. Sometimes they'd be watching something when I peeked in and at first Sergeant Angel would sit beside the bed, but after a while he would lay on the hospital bed with Danny, his body looking very relaxed pinned between Danny and the bedrail. It was pretty clear; I guess… at least Danny was. He never actually said anything I heard or did anything really outlandish, but it was pretty obvious he wanted something more than what he was getting. Sergeant Angel was harder to read; sometimes when he'd touch Danny or even look at him you could see it… but then it would just go away. I didn't know for sure until I happened to see him out at Somerfield's alone, standing in the queue with a small basket.

Miss Thatcher happened to see him out and about and followed him into the queue. "Good evening Sergeant Angel, or should I say Inspector now?"

"It's not official. I'll be accepting rank next week, Danny should be fit for desk work by Monday and I'd like to work with him on preparing for the Sergeant's exam. I think it'll be good for him; he needs to get out of the house… and learn how to process forms.

"Aww, how romantic." She chuckled softly, "Just joking around a bit. I know, I know…"

"Doris." Angel's face was pink around the cheeks, but she changed the subject before he could finish.

"I can't believe he hasn't ducked out on you yet… is that what you're feeding him?"

"It's nutritionally balanced." Sergeant Angel looked at her in all seriousness. "He doesn't need a bunch of junk when he's on the mend."

"Oh get off your little high horse." Ms. Thatcher rolled her eyes at him, taking a package of biscuits out of her basket and placing them in his. "Trust me; he's much easier to deal with after tea and biscuits." I was pretty sure he wouldn't go for it, but he did. Clearly there was something to whatever was going on.

That Sunday afternoon, Sergeant Angel opened the door and came in with a full tea tray shortly after I peered in the garden window. Danny sure seemed happy to see him - probably more so with the tea. Feeling a bit bold, I found my penknife and wedged it under the old window, pulling it open on the oiled hinges even further than I'd expected. Unsurprisingly, they were chatting over the simple tea.

"I mean it, Nicholas… it's exactly what I wanted today. Even Jaffa Cakes… I haven't had these in ages…" Danny's voice was sounding much clearer than it had before, and even happy.

"It's nothing." Sergeant Angel's face was turned profile to me, but I could tell he was smiling.

Danny was quiet as he slurped at his cup, then said; "I mean it, you know. Nobody ever gets me like you do… it's like you really care." I've never heard him sound so serious before, there wasn't even a tiny bit of a joke in his voice. "I mean, really care."

Sergeant Angel responded quickly, "I do care for you, Danny. That's why you're here." It was unexpected to hear him just out and say it, but as huge smile came across Danny's face he added; "You're my partner, right?"

"Right." Danny's smile faded, back to the emptiness of before. Halfway through a Jaffa cake and I was about ready to break my silence and shout at them what they must be completely daft not to see. Finally he stared down at his biscuit and asked, "Why am I here, Nicholas? I mean, they had nurses and all that who could take care of me so I know you don't have to." He sighed, dropping the sweet into his lap - he really was being serious. "And it would have been easier to clean up my place than get everything together here so I know it's not because my place isn't like you would want it. I mean, you're in control of everything here and I could go home if I'm good enough to work tomorrow and you're still bringing me tea and giving me sponge baths."

"Relax, Danny. You've had major physical trauma… you shouldn't even be alive."

"But I am, I'm doing great… even you said so…"

"You are, but you're still on the mend. I mean, you can barely get out of bed an you know you aren't exactly going back out on the streets… you'll be behind a desk filling out requisition forms in a bloody wheelchair! You need the help."

"I could manage well enough and there's always someone that could help me out." Danny broke through Sergeant Angel's defense like tissue. "And the nurses would come back if I needed."

"They don't know what you need, Danny." Angel set down his cup with a pronounced scrape against the tray.

"And what, you do? Like you're such an expert you can't even bloody well see what's as big as an elephant in the room." Silly bastard was actually going to do it, right here… now.

"Me, Danny. Alright? Is that what you want me to say? You need me to take care of you because without me you'll be back to where you were before and you know it." He stopped and Danny looked completely gob smacked, if he was holding up better he probably would have just walked out before Sergeant Angel could add; "So would I and you know that too."

Danny didn't say anything for a long time… like he was really puzzling over it. Finally he answered softly; "What are we really doing?"

Sergeant Angel picked up a biscuit, turning it over in his hands - not even looking Danny in the face. "You know what it is, Danny. We don't need to have this discussion, particularly in your condition."

"So you don't feel anything, you're really as cold you want everyone to think you are." Danny spat back. I knew that wasn't true, even on the outside looking in (literally in my case) it was pretty obvious.

Angel swallowed hard. "I'm going to be your commanding officer; even if I did feel what you want me to I couldn't do anything about it. Didn't you read the book?" He looked up from the tea tray, clearly losing it.

"I don't remember, did it say something about vigilante justice or pretending to be a nurse?" Danny looked away, towards the window. I ducked quick, praying I hadn't been caught.

"Come on, Danny… you know what the circumstances were."

"Circumstatiable. This is bloody Sandford; you saved half the village from the other half! I don't exactly think anyone would call you on it."

"I have to set a strong moral example, Danny. If I don't follow the strictest letter of the code of ethics it makes people think I am lax in other areas of the law…"

"Fine. Then I quit." I peered quickly up over the ledge as Danny raised his voice, seeing I was once more safe… though still convinced Sergeant Angel was being a twat about the whole thing.

"Don't be daft, Danny."

"I'm not. First thing tomorrow morning I'll put in my resignation and say I'm not fit to be an officer."

"Danny, don't." Nicholas sighed, "You know you can't do that."

"I can too. It's real easy." Danny shook his head slowly. "And then, you can say what you're not saying now."

Sergeant Angel grumbled, snapping the biscuit in half. "Damn it, Danny. I won't let you ruin your life. I have to protect you."

"I'm a grown up, I can take care of myself. If you didn't notice I did just fine before you ever came around."

Angel crushed one half of the cake, letting the sticky insides cling to his palm and then drop onto the tray. He let out a soft sigh and responded like he was almost defeated. "I have to protect you from me, Danny. If nothing changes there is no chance I can hurt you. I am the worst person in the universe to care about… believe me, Danny, it's better you don't let this turn into anything it doesn't have to."

Danny responded in a whisper I couldn't make out and I leaned in closer to the open pane - much too close, but just enough to hear him add. "You wouldn't hurt me, Nicholas. I know you wouldn't."

"Christ, Danny!" Nicholas shouted suddenly, drawing a gasp from both of us. "Would you just once listen to what I have to say? Every relationship I've ever had has ended badly because of me. Because of who I am." He sighed, pushing up out of his chair. "I won't let you commit yourself to the pain."

"Too late." Danny shrugged, a smile barely creasing his lips. "I'm not going to let you say 'no'. If you can't deal with it then fuck off."

Nicholas shook his head, his face in that sort of neutral position until Danny's smile must have got him. "You… you are absolutely hopelessly in love with idea of being in love with me."

"Yeah?" Danny looked like he was thinking on it, "So?"

"So, it will only end badly." Nicholas sighed.

"But you'll give it try, then?"

The fucking swift bastard… he'd managed to find a way in. Nicholas slowly smiled, finally able to look Danny square in the face. "Do I have a choice?"

"No." Danny grinned.

"Well then, I suppose you've got me." Nicholas suddenly turned his head to look right at me, before I even hit the grass I knew I'd been caught. "And you!" He shouted, having already managed the distance from the bed to the window to look out at me. "You are in a lot of trouble."

***End***

**Author's Note:**

> This is a work of fictional parody in no way intended to infringe upon the rights of any individual or corporate entity. Any and all characters or celebrity personae belong to their rightful owners. Absolutely no money has or will be gained from this work. Please do not publicly link, repost or redistribute without letting me know first.


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